Getty Kenny Golladay walks into the end zone in 2019.
The Detroit Lions haven’t got a ton of love from NFL insiders this offseason, but within a new poll, they were handed some blatant disrespect.
Recently, a list of the top 10 wideouts heading into the 2020 NFL season was revealed by ESPN after a polling of those within the league and Kenny Golladay was nowhere to be found on the list. Instead, as Jeremy Fowler admitted, Golladay was close to cracking the list, but in the end, he wasn’t able to make it.
Former teammates Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were very close to cracking Top 10. Amari Cooper edged them by small margin. Kenny Golladay also was close.
Also close? In this case, that doesn’t cut it for Golladay. He’s one of the top young wideouts in the NFL, and statistically, he’s been climbing quietly up leaderboards the last few seasons. If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that Golladay is going to make noise in the future whether the league illuminati like it or not.
Just because a player plays for the Lions shouldn’t mean they get subject to a decline in rating. If there’s one thing most can agree on, it’s the fact that even in spite of some deficiencies, the Lions will have a pair of things going for them this season in Matthew Stafford and Golladay. Their connection could lead to huge numbers both ways in 2020.
Both should be considered top 10 players at their positions in the NFL fairly easily, and that’s true whether folks polled from around the league want to admit it officially or not.
Kenny Golladay Pegged for Huge 2020 Season
After a few solid seasons since being drafted into the league, Golladay appeared to grow by leaps and bounds in 2019. All of that only sets the stage for what could be to come this year. According to Pro Football Focus, Golladay is going to be one of the most productive wideouts in the game this coming season, racking up 1,405 receiving yards. That would represent a top 3 total in the league.
Most projected receiving yards
1. Michael Thomas – 1,525
2. Julio Jones – 1,457
3. Kenny Golladay – 1,405
4. Chris Godwin – 1,331
Golladay is a player the Lions need to build around for the future, and his ability to make huge plays in the passing game is a major reason why. He’s developed well since the Lions drafted him and Golladay is a home grown talent in the truest sense.
A season like this might just propel the Lions forward in the biggest and best possible ways offensively.
Kenny Golladay’s 2019 Stats
From nearly the start of the season until the finish, Golladay had an excellent year catching the ball. So far, he’s put up 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s had some huge games last season, and four times Golladay has gone well over 100 yards in a game catching the ball for the Lions. His ball skills are a big reason why.
In total, Golladay has enjoyed arguably the best start to a career of any wideout in his 2017 draft class not named JuJu Smith-Schuster. With 2,730 yards and 19 touchdowns thus far in his career coming into the 2020 season on the field, Golladay looks like an obvious top dog in Detroit for the foreseeable future with Matthew Stafford tossing him the rock. That’s good news for the Lions, who have long pondered how to find production at the wideout position minus Calvin Johnson. Not an issue anymore with Golladay taking over.
Lions Wide Receiver Group Ranked High in NFL
Recently, Pro Football Focus put together a list of the top wideout groups in the NFL 1-32. Detroit’s group, which is led by Golladay and Marvin Jones, ended up placing No. 6 on the list, safely within the top 10 in the league.
Writer Ben Linsey likes what he sees from the group, as he wrote in the piece:
“The duo of Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. may be underrated around the league, but both guys can win in a number of ways, and they excel in contested-catch situations. Golladay ranks fifth in contested catches since 2017 (49) while Jones ranks eighth (42), and both have top-10 contested-catch rates among qualifiers. Danny Amendola remains a solid option in the slot at 34 years old after earning a 71.5 overall grade in 2019, and there’s reason to believe T.J. Hockenson will take a step forward as a receiver in his second season given how effective he was at Iowa. The addition of the best receiving running back in the class — D’Andre Swift — only bolsters the group.”
The Lions have players not only at wideout but other spots ready and willing to jump into the mix and help. That’s the mark of a solid team that has some excellent depth, and is a major reason the Lions might have one of the best groups in the entire league.
Golladay himself might help drive the bus toward the team’s ascension given what he’s able to do down the field with the big play deep ball. He’s going to be one of the top wideouts in the league no matter who is polled.
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